Veneering involves bonding a thin finishing layer to an inferior substratum. Until recently, in fine woodworking, a solid, pre-milled, stiff strap of an expensive wood was placed over a less expensive wood (including particle board and chip core), particularly where the external surface of the edge of the finished product involved a complex surface (surface other than flat for purposes such as finger pulls and the like). Such edge treatment was time consuming and expensive.
In the old process, the workpiece to get the edge treatment is first cut to rough size, and then the edges planed to precise size and a groove cut out of the center of the edge. The groove is to receive the tongue of a piece of solid wood strap to be mounted on the workpiece edge. The piece of solid wood strap is usually prepared from a hardwood having the desired grain and finish properties by suitable milling operations. Glue is then applied to one or both of the surfaces having the groove and tongue, and the solid wood strap placed against the workpiece so that the former's tongue is received in the later's groove and the strip is flush against the workpiece. After the glue has set, the wood strap is trimmed, as by cutting and sanding, at its edges, to matching flatness with the other surfaces of the finished product.
Cutting out the workpiece groove and a tongue on the solid wood strap, waiting for the glue to set, and the sanding, all take time and money.